


Phobias

by punch_kicker15



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Episode: s05e22 The Gift, Female Friendship, Female-Centric, Friendship, Gen, POV Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-02-16
Packaged: 2018-01-12 17:35:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1193769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punch_kicker15/pseuds/punch_kicker15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anya offers Willow some perspective right before the big fight with Glory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Phobias

“Do you need any ingredients?” Anya asked.

Willow shook her head. “No, this one’s gonna be all me.” And how scary was _that_ thought?

“Can I help you go over the spell?”

A couple of snotty remarks came to mind, but then Willow remembered that Anya actually had some experience doing magic. Anya was probably trying to be nice, in her typically blundering way. Like what she’d said when Willow was facing the prospect of sleeping without Tara: _You can sleep with me! Well, now, that came out a lot more lesbian than it sounded in my head._ And after all they’d been through this year, it just seemed sort of ridiculous for Willow to keep getting annoyed by Anya’s awkwardness, when there was kindness underneath it.

“Thanks, but I’ve gone over it a hundred times already. All I have to do is reach into Glory’s mind while avoiding my own brain-suckage, find Tara, pull her out of Glory’s body and put her back into her own, and make sure I don’t accidentally bring any part of Glory into Tara’s body. Piece of cake.”

Anya gave her an encouraging look and said, “Well, you aren’t screwing up your spells as much as you used to. Plus, you got into Buffy’s mind and you both appear to be undamaged.”

Willow wanted to scream that it was completely different, that Buffy was sane, or at least as sane as anyone could be under the circumstances. But if she kept talking about how incredibly difficult it was, about how she’d need to be forceful and delicate with her magic at just the right times, she’d just curl up into a ball of anxiety and there would be no one who could jump into her mind and call her back.

“Besides,” Anya said. “Glory’s not _that_ scary. She’s nothing compared to bunnies.”

Willow couldn’t help but crack a genuine smile at that. “Oh, come on. Frogs are way scarier. They’re all slimy, and they have those beady little eyes, and they’re all big with the jumping up at you when you least expect it.”

“Bunnies can jump unexpectedly, too. And frogs at least make noise. Bunnies are silent so they can sneak up on you and bite you. And their teeth are really sharp and it can really hurt. And the way their noses are wiggling all they time, it just gives me the creeps.”

Willow thought about bringing up her stage fright, since this was turning into a phobia-fest. But it was a little too close to what she was actually feeling. Pretty soon, she’d be performing on the biggest stage ever, and if she messed up her role, the world would end. She decided to keep things light.

“Ok, you win. Bunnies are the scariest. When I’m facing down Glory, I’ll be telling myself. ‘It could be worse. She could be a bunny.’”

Anya said, “Well, she is a hellgod. So you should probably say _two_ bunnies.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Friends will be friends - a multifandom friendship fic (and art) fest, v4.0](http://ruuger.dreamwidth.org/951871.html) Prompt was Willow and Anya - phobias


End file.
